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Protests continue in Cambodia despite legal threat

SunNarin

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia--Cambodian authorities plan to take legal action against garment-worker unions that refuse to end a weeklong strike, after labor officials rejected workers' demands for a larger increase in minimum wages for the key export sector.

The job action--launched Dec. 24 by tens of thousands of workers--is the largest this year in a sector plagued by frequent strikes. It has forced many factories to halt production, stoking concerns over a widening fallout for this Southeast Asian economy. Cambodia is heavily reliant on garment manufacturing as its main exports earner and biggest formal-sector employer.

In notices issued to unions late Monday, the Labor Ministry said it would stand by its decision last week to raise the garment industry's minimum wage by 19% to $95 a month starting in April--rejecting unions' demand for $160.

The ministry asked workers to return to their jobs on Jan. 2 and said unions that continue striking would have their licenses suspended or canceled, while union leaders could face lawsuits. Meanwhile, officials would immediately start legal proceedings against the leader of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions--one of the six unions behind the strike--as the group isn't registered with the labor ministry, according to the notice.

"Authorities will take steadfast legal action against anyone who agitates and disturbs employees and enterprises," said the Labor Ministry, which issued the notice on the advice of the Council of Ministers, Cambodia's cabinet.

Union leaders, however, refused to back down. Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions, said he was aware of the legal action being taken against him, but said he would continue to "lead the protest for improving workers' conditions."

"Workers are demanding higher wages but there has been no result, so they will continue the protest," said Pav Sina, president of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, one of six unions warned by the government. "We call on the government to find more mechanisms to increase workers' wages to a suitable level."

The Labor Ministry's warnings, which came after fruitless Monday talks between labor officials and union leaders, also didn't deter workers from resuming their protest on Tuesday.

Thousands of workers gathered Tuesday at the Labor Ministry building in the capital Phnom Penh, facing off against hundreds of riot police as they reiterated demands for a larger minimum-wage increase. The latest protest mirrored scenes on Monday outside the government cabinet offices, where workers occupied the main thoroughfare in a peaceful standoff with police.

The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, or GMAC, didn't attend Monday's talks. The group has said it would only ask members to restart operations if the Labor Ministry and unions vouched for the safety of factories and employees who return to work.

Of the association's 473 member factories, 435 remained shut as of late Monday. Some members opened their factories on Monday but were disrupted by union-led protests, the association said late Monday in a statement.

"We are asking the unions to respect the law" and stop inciting protests among workers, Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia Secretary General Ken Loo said. Union leaders denied using any illegal or violent means to organize strikes or disrupt factory operations.

Garment manufacturing is Cambodia's biggest export business, supplying apparel to retailers mainly in the U.S. and European Union. The industry earned nearly $5.1 billion in the first 11 months of this year, up 22% from the same period last year, according to the Commerce Ministry.

Cambodia has about 800 garment and footwear factories that employ about 600,000 workers, mostly women, labor officials say. Manufacturers favor the country for its low-wage costs, but strikes are frequent, because of what union leaders say is widespread discontent with meager salaries, poor working conditions and lax enforcement of labor laws.

According to the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, garment workers have mounted 131 strikes from January to November, up from 121 for all of last year, which makes 2013 the most strike-prone year since record keeping started in 2003.

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